Hat-block



(-No Model.)

J- MARSHALL.

HAT BLOGK.

Nol 533,908 Patented' Feb. 12, 1895.

F'J IE.- v

, WHJVSSES Mi cams Pzrzns w.. #Hman-mo.. wAsHmGYoN D c 40 narykconstruction, I have produced a block lNITED STATES PATENT este,

HAT-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 533,908,.dated February12,- 1895.

Application tiled August 18, 1893. Serial No. 483,459. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES MARSHALL, a citizen of the United States,residing atFall River, in the county of Bristol and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFormers or Blocks for Strotchin g Hats; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,whichwill enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make anduse the same.

In the manufacture of former blocks for hat-making machinery, that is,those blocks upon the outside of which the felt hat blank is placed tolbe stretched, which operation is v known as blocking out, it has beencommon to turn upa block of wood of one or more pieces to the propershape. The use of wood is objectionable, however, as the moisture in thefelt blank causes it to swell, and consequently some of the hats arestretched too much. Iron blocks are found objectionable on accountoftheir weight and their tendency to rust and ruin the hats, and blocksmade of copper are objectionable because of the great expense of theirconstruction. The use of an expanding head formed of a series of piecesknown as fingers properly pivoted together, is also common, but thisconstruction has been found unsuitable for shaping hats to be iinishedin a hydraulic press, as it is necessary that the hat should be of theexact shape of the die that is used therein and the use of an expandinghead will not accomplish this. On the other hand it leaves the hat fullof ridges and when the diein the hydraulic press descends it comes incontact with these ridges and mashes the hat in the press.

In order to overcome the objectionsto the use and manufacture of blocksof the ordiconsisting partly of copper and partly of another metal, aswhite metal, as fully set forth hereinafter and as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a sectional view of theshell pontion of the block as constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of both the shell and the base,showing the interior filled with sand, which is subsequently emptied onthe withdrawal of the rod which is also shown in said ligure. Fig. 3 isa section of the completed former. A

The improved former A consists of-asliell a of copper, which issemi-spherical or approximately semi-spherical, and a base or backing hwhich is in theform of a comparatively thin plate joined permanently atits edges to the edges of the semi-spherical hollowl shell das bestillustrated in Fig. 3. In order to economically manufacture the formerof this character, I first make the shell a of copper. This shell ismade to have any configuration desired, and while it may be variouslylformed, I prefer to make it by the wellknown process ofelectro-deposition. Thus a wooden block or plaster cast is made of theshape desired and submitted to the electro-`y lytic process, whernit iscovered with a coating of sufficient thickness, usually aboutonesixteenth 'of an inch, more or less, thereby forming a shell with aVery smooth exterior surface, and it will be readily seen that it can bequickly and accurately formed of any shape or style to suit; and while Iprefer to make it by the process of electro-deposition, it will beevident that it may be otherwise formed by spinning the metal over theplaster cast or wooden block, by casting it in a two-part mold, or inany other desirable manner.

It will be understood of course that in order to secure or furnish tothe shella smooth or plain external surface, the said shell is placedwithin the hollowot a mold of suitable shape and the electro depositionof metal is laid upon the outer surface of the shellin contact with thesurface of the mold. In this way the desired smooth or plain exteriorsurface is obtained.

After the shell c is formed, whatever may be the mode by which itis-made, it is filled with sand or other pulverized substance, and a.stick or rod h is placed with its lower end in an lopening n: which haspreviously been made in the shell and standing vertically, and a body ofsand is then deposited in the shell a around the stickh with its uppersurfacea short distance below the upper edge of the shell a. Upon thissand is then poured molten white metal or other metallicalloy orcomposition, the heat of which causes the edge of the shell a to becomefused or partlyfused IOO so that the base and the shell are fused orbrazed together at their contacting points, thereby forming a solid,impervious, air-tight joint not likely to open or leak, While an openingis also formed in the center oi' the base when the stick h is withdrawn.After the metal base b has hardened and cooled, the stick 71, isWithdrawn and the sand is permitted to run out through one of theopenings y. The former will then be complete and it is connected by ascrew connection or otherwise with an inlet pipee through which coinpressed air may be forced.

In the manufacture of hats, the moist felt hat is drawn over the blockor formerA, and the bottom edges of the hat are secured to the usualclamps (which need not be here shown or described), and the block isthen moved vertically upward so as to stretch or shape the hat upon it,While the clamps maintain hold of the lower portion. After the hat hasbeen stretched to the proper extent, the block is lowered and the hatreleased and compressed air is then forced through the pipe e whichenters between the former and the hat and overcomes the cohesion betweenthe two,

so that the hat may be readily removed. The block may be so constructed,however, as to permit the operator to remove it from its supportingframe and blow through the openings,

which method is now in use, and release the JAMES MARSHALL.

lVitncsses:

DAVID F. SLADE, SYDNEY H. BORDEN.

